Songs to Live By

Summary

Martin Luther described the Book of Psalms as “a Bible in miniature;” and it is indeed true that for nearly 20 centuries Christians of all churches have found the Psalter to be “a Bible within the Bible.” No other Old Testament book speaks so warmly to the heart and soul of Christians. It is not unusual to find the New Testament printed with the Book of Psalms; but how often have you seen “The New Testament and Isaiah”, or “The New Testament and Genesis”?The Psalms are passionate outpourings of the human soul. They mirror the full range of human emotions - from deepest despair to heights of ecstasy. They reflect virtually every life-situation, every spiritual problem, every yearning that the people of God experience as they journey from earth to heaven.The Psalms also dispel pious pretense in prayer. They teach us to approach God honestly, stripped of every hypocritical facade. The Psalter abounds with complaints against, as well as praise for, God and his providence. The psalmists said what they felt, and spoke what they meant. They did not pretend to be something they were not. But that same naked honesty also compelled them to see God clearly, and thus finally return to an affirmation of faith (cp. Ps 44:8-12,17-19,23-26.)Hardly anything could more enrich your life than to become familiar with these glorious and profoundly moving songs.

Few today would hazard their lives on such a superstitious belief, but we can trust without any qualm the power of the Psalms to rescue us from the far greater venom of that old viper Satan. Here, in Israel’s sacred songs, is a divine antivenene for all of the Serpent’s poison. Those who read the Psalms, and reflect upon them continually, will surely find their promise fulfilled –

Happiness belongs to everyone

Whose delight is in the law of the Lord,

Who meditate in his law day and night.

They will be like trees planted beside a running stream,

Which bear much fruit year after year

And their leaves never wither (1:1-3)

These are truly ‘¹songs to live by", and I hope that the following pages will quicken in you a new interest in the Psalms, and a desire to know much more about them. The first part of this book deals with the psalmody of Israel, and the second half builds on Israel’s worship experience and explores some aspects of worship in the church.

Let me now launch the book with some lines by Sir Thomas Wyatt, that renowned English courtier and poet who nearly lost his head (literally) for love, when he sought to displace King Henry VIII in Anne Boleyn’s affections. One of his poems is a song of eight stanzas, of which I shall quote the first here, and the last at the end of this book. A song about a man who was about to write a song seems appropriate to my theme!

My lute awake! perform the last

Labour that thou and I shall waste,

And end that I have now begun:

And when this song is sung and past,

My lute be still, for I have done.

Part One

IN THE TEMPLE OF GOD

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Chapter One

MIRRORS OF THE SOUL

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INTRODUCTION

Martin Luther described the Book of Psalms as a Bible in miniature;and it is indeed true that for nearly 20 centuries Christians of all churches have found the Psalter to be a Bible within the Bible.No other Old Testament book speaks so warmly to the heart and soul of Christians. It is not unusual to find the New Testament printed with the Book of Psalms; but how often have you seen The New Testament and Isaiah, or The New Testament and Genesis?

The Psalms are passionate outpourings of the human soul. They mirror the full range of human emotions - from deepest despair to heights of ecstasy. They reflect virtually every life-situation, every spiritual problem, every yearning that the people of God experience as they journey from earth to heaven.

The Psalms also dispel pious pretense in prayer. They teach us to approach God honestly, stripped of every hypocritical facade. The Psalter abounds with complaints against, as well as praise for, God and his providence. The psalmists said what they felt, and spoke what they meant. They did not pretend to be something they were not. But that same naked honesty also compelled them to see God clearly, and thus finally return to an affirmation of faith (cp. Ps 44:8-12,17-19,23-26.)

Hardly anything could more enrich your life than to become familiar with these glorious and profoundly moving songs.

GENERAL INFORMATION

THE PSALMS AND PUBLIC WORSHIP

In Hebrew, the title of the collection is tehillim = Songs of Praise.Why then do we call them psalms? Simply because our English words Psalms and Psalter are derived from the Latin psalmorum and the Greek psalterion. Those words were themselves both derived from an older word that meant to twang or pluck; hence they described a song accompanied by a harp or some other stringed instrument. Thus we are reminded that the Psalms are poems designed more to be sung than read; they are not formal sermons nor doctrinal statements.

Is that important?

Yes, because it means that they cannot be properly understood unless they are read as you would read any other song. How do you read a song? Certainly not in the same way you would read a piece of prose. Readers of poetry adopt (usually unconsciously) a particular emotional, spiritual, and mental attitude. They expect the real meaning of the lines to lie under the surface. They look for the words to appeal to the heart rather than to the mind.

Further, poets and songwriters often talk about one thing when they mean the reader to understand another. They use a figure of speech called a conceit, in which ideas that seem to have no connection are used to represent each other. For example, consider these two English poems, both of which employ clever devices that have nothing to do with their actual theme:

(1) Shakespeare, in one of his sonnets, uses the image of a weary traveler to express his love for his sweetheart; he yearns for her as a man would who was obliged to journey far from his home and his beloved -

How heavy do I journey on the way,

When what I seek - my weary travel’s end -

Doth teach that ease and that repose to say,

‘Thus far the miles are measur’d from thy friend!’¹

The beast that bears me, tired with my woe,

Plods dully on, to bear that weight in me,

As if by some instinct the wretch did know

His rider lov’d not speed, being made from thee:²

The bloody spur cannot provoke him on

That sometimes anger thrusts into his hide;

Which heavily he answers with a groan,

More sharp to me than spurring to his side;³

For that same groan doth put this in my mind -

My grief lies onward, and my joy behind.⁴

(2) John Donne, in A Hymn to Christ (written in 1619), uses the analogy of a sea voyage to express his faith in the Saviour –

In what torn ship soever I embark,⁵

That ship shall be my emblem of thy ark;

What sea soever swallow me, that flood

Shall be to me an emblem of thy blood;⁶

Though thou with clouds of anger do disguise

Thy face; yet through that mask I know those eyes,

Which, though they turn away sometimes,

They never will despise.⁷

I sacrifice this Island unto thee,

And all whom I loved there, and who loved me;⁸

When I have put our seas ‘twixt them and me,

Put thou thy sea betwixt my sins and thee.⁹

As the tree’s sap doth seek the root below

In winter, in my winter now I go,

Where none but thee, th’eternal root

Of true love I may know.¹⁰

How nonsensical it would be for someone to use either of those poems as a source of teaching about (say) the rigors of travelling by mule-back, or about the perils of an ocean voyage! Yet just that kind of folly can often be observed in interpretations of the Psalms. The lesson is clear: poetry must be read and understood as poetry, not as formal prose, whether it is found in a set of love sonnets, or in a hymn book, or in the Bible.

How to read the Psalms will become more evident later, as we study the peculiar structures of Hebrew poetry. But here let us notice that the Psalter is actually a hymn book, designed for use in Israel’s worship, and showing the liturgical ¹¹ structure of the Temple services. We learn that Israel’s worship was highly formal, yet also warmly spontaneous -

The Psalter is Israel’s hymn book ... Many of the Psalms carry musical or liturgical directions. The text of some refers to a public liturgy - 20, 26, 27, 66, 81, 107, 116, 134, 135. These last, and others - 48, 65, 95, 96, 118 - were evidently recited in the Temple court. The Songs of Ascents (120 - 134), like 84, were songs used on the Temple pilgrimage. These are some of the clearest examples, and suffice to show that many Psalms, even individual Psalms, were composed for Temple worship. Others, if not composed primarily for this purpose, have at least been adapted for it by the addition of blessings - 125, 128, 129 ... It is therefore certain that the Psalms were related to public worship and that the Psalter, taken as a whole, is liturgical in character ... (Thus) the Hebrew title of 92 assigns it to the Sabbath day, and the Greek titles of 24, 48, 93, 94 apportion them to several other days of the week...¹²

Clearly then, the Psalms were either composed or adapted for use in the worship services of the Temple, and served much the same purpose as hymn books do in Christian churches.

The structure of many of the Psalms reflects this liturgical use. With a little imagination, and an expansion of some of the Psalms, it is easy to feel that one has been carried back across the centuries into the Temple, to share in one of Israel’s days of public assembly. Here we are, standing with the great congregation, worshipping Yahweh in the courts of his magnificent sanctuary in old Jerusalem. We can do this, because many of the liturgical Psalms seem to represent a poet’s summary, or description, of a striking worship service that he had experienced. The psalmist was so moved by the service that he determined to commemorate it forever in a song. Later, his poem was added to Israel’s Psalter, and then itself became a part of other liturgies. We will explore more of that process in a moment. But first note that observation of the liturgical structure of the Psalms helps to explain a mystery: why do so many of these sacred songs have such an irregular pattern? The constantly changing poetical structure of many Psalms reflects the place each new section had in the liturgy. Or perhaps the abrupt changes in mood or speaker show a shift in the action or ritual of the worship service.

One group of Psalms is particularly interesting, namely, the collection of songs that embody a prophetic oracle. They convey a strong impression that from time to time a prophet spontaneously disturbed the orderly progression of the liturgy or priest, who suddenly spoke out a word from the Lord. These disrupted Psalms show the charismatic nature of Israel’s worship, and suggest that a devout worshipper from ancient Israel would feel quite at home in a modern Pentecostal environment!

Here then are some examples of

LITURGICAL PSALMS WITH ORACLES

In each of the examples below you should imagine yourself peacefully sharing in the stately ritual of the Temple, when suddenly the voice of a prophet cries out. The word of the Lord interrupts the ceremony, and reshapes the worship of the people. Everybody is stirred; the planned program is perhaps abandoned. Depending upon the nature of the oracle, sounds of lamentation or of joy echo through the sanctuary. God has spoken, and the people must respond. Sometime later, the memorable event was summarised by the psalmist in a poem. He hoped the worshippers would never forget that day!

How can you recognise these special Psalms? As you will see from the following the occurrence of an oracle in the Psalms may be marked by various signals:

perhaps there is a change of speaker - say, from the psalmist to the Lord, then back to the psalmist;¹³ or

sometimes, the intrusion of an oracle is shown by an expression such as, The Lord speaks in his sanctuary ... or, This is what God says ...

or there may be just a dramatic change in the direction, theme, or mood of a Psalm.

Here are some examples -

Psalm 12, a lament, seeking deliverance from personal enemies.

a cry for help, perhaps uttered by a worshipper, or by the Temple cantor, to introduce the time of worship;

(5) the Lord’s response, through a sudden prophetic oracle, promising protection for those who call upon him;

an affirmation of faith, perhaps by the cantor, or another official, encouraging the people to rely upon the oracle;

an anthem by the choir, responding to the oracle and praying for the promise to be soon fulfilled.

Psalm 20, a liturgy for a sacrifice offered before a battle.

a prayer sung while approaching the altar, seeking the blessing of God upon their sacrifices (vs. 3), and pleading that the army might be given victory in the coming battle (vs. 4-5);

a joyful response by a prominent person to an oracle¹⁴that was presumably spoken between verses 5 & 6 (for a similar hiatus, see 28:5-6; 69:29-30, and compare the placing of the oracle in Psalm 21 below);¹⁵

(7-8) a worship leader gives a more formal response to the oracle, or perhaps simply resumes the original liturgy

(9) the choir, or perhaps the people or the army, sing a closing anthem.¹⁶

Psalm 21, a liturgy for thanksgiving after victory in battle.

(1-7) God is praised (perhaps by the king himself, acting as worship leader in a regal liturgy) for the victory he has given to Israel;

(8-12) a prophet interrupts the king with an oracle promising yet greater victories;

(13) the congregation, or perhaps the army, sings the praises of God.

Psalm 50, a Psalm built around two oracles.

an introduction to the two oracles that follow (note the opening words: God, the Lord God, hasspoken), which were perhaps spoken at different times, but so impressed the psalmist that he (or she) copied them down and then wrought them into this Psalm -

(7) the first oracle, beginning with an announcement that God is about to speak

(8-15) a protest against violations of religious forms

(16a) the second oracle, again beginning with an announcement

(16b-23) the second oracle, denouncing violations of moral law.

Psalm 60, a liturgy following defeat in battle.

(1-3) the people lament the defeat of their army in battle;

an official prays that God might enable the king (Thy Beloved) to regather the forces of Israel and to triumph over his enemies;

the voice of a prophet suddenly echoes through the sanctuary with a jubilant oracle;

(9-11) a general, or the king, responds to the oracle with a prayer;

(12) the people, or the army, declare their renewed confidence in God.

Psalm 75, a liturgy of thanksgiving for God’s mighty deeds.

the choir sings the praises of God, and calls the people to worship;

(2-5) the service is interrupted by a sudden oracle, spoken by a priest or prophet;

(6-7) a warning based on the oracle, perhaps spoken by a priest or preacher;

(8) a short poem on divine judgment, possibly sung by the choir, which may mark a return to the original order of service;

an individual, probably the king, praises God and affirms confidence in the divine promise.

Psalm 81, a liturgy for a Temple festival.

(1-5a) the call to worship;

(5b) a priest or prophet suddenly senses the voice of God (I hear a voice I was not expecting ... );

the oracle is spoken, and apparently had such an effect that it terminated the liturgy, since nothing else was spoken.

Psalm 82, a liturgy of judgment upon false judges.

a seer declares his vision;

(2-4) an oracle rebuking the false judges;

(5) a teacher comments on the oracle;

(6-7) a second oracle, pronouncing sentence upon the false judges; followed by (8) a prayer that the vision will be fully accomplished.

Psalm 85, a liturgy for deliverance from adversity.

(1-3) God’s past favours are retold;

(4-7) a prayer for his favour to be restored;

(8) a prophet waits for the Lord to speak (I will listen for God’s reply ...);

the oracle comes to him, and he declares it to the people, at which point the liturgy apparently came to an end.

Psalm 95, a liturgy for public worship.

(1-2) the call to begin worship by singing a hymn;

(3-5) the priest or cantor declares the greatness of God;

(6-7a) the people are called to prayer;

(7b-11) a passionate oracle is suddenly delivered, which is quite out of character with the happy beginning of the Psalm; it shattered the serene progress of the order of service, interjected the mind of God, and apparently terminated the planned liturgy for that day.

Other examples of prophetic oracles occurring at various points in the temple services - sometimes sought for by the worship leaders, sometimes unsought - could be readily found.¹⁷ If you let your imagination carry you back to the Temple as you read the Psalms, you can get an exciting sense of the immediacy of God’s presence and action